"I have to find information on this topic. I'll just do a Google search."
-Random Student
Does this sound like you? Well, there is more to your online search life than just Google! While Google is the go-to search engine for many people, there are a number of problems with using it to search for information when doing research:
1. Google will provide you with many, many more hits than you could possibly have time to check out. If you spend all of your time sifting through these hits, you'll never get to your research!
2. No one has gone through all of the sites that come up as search hits. Chances are, a lot of the hits are barely related to your topic.
3. It's difficult to know if you can trust a source you've found through a basic Google search. Just because it's on the web doesn't mean it's credible. You need to have pre-screened, reliable sources for your research.
4. Something may seem like a great resource when it comes up as a hit, but the reading level of the material may be way over your head! You will get frustrated and bored using sources that are written for college students and adults.
"So, what are my options?"
There are actually many other search engines and options for you to consider. The search engines listed below have all been created just for kids! These search engines will take you to sites that are kid-friendly and kid-approved!
In addition to the search engines above, there are easy and fast ways to improve your Google searches. Try the following techniques, and you'll find that your Google searches will be much more efficient and effective:
Google Advanced Search: Using Boolean terms and other shortcuts: Boolean terms are words you add to your search terms to narrow your search, words like and, or,not, etc. Deeperweb:Deeperweb gives you your Google search results in a convenient, easy-to-use layout using tag clouds and topic-mapping. Google Wonder Wheel:
"I have to find information on this topic. I'll just do a Google search."
-Random Student
Does this sound like you? Well, there is more to your online search life than just Google! While Google is the go-to search engine for many people, there are a number of problems with using it to search for information when doing research:
1. Google will provide you with many, many more hits than you could possibly have time to check out. If you spend all of your time sifting through these hits, you'll never get to your research!
2. No one has gone through all of the sites that come up as search hits. Chances are, a lot of the hits are barely related to your topic.
3. It's difficult to know if you can trust a source you've found through a basic Google search. Just because it's on the web doesn't mean it's credible. You need to have pre-screened, reliable sources for your research.
4. Something may seem like a great resource when it comes up as a hit, but the reading level of the material may be way over your head! You will get frustrated and bored using sources that are written for college students and adults.
"So, what are my options?"
There are actually many other search engines and options for you to consider. The search engines listed below have all been created just for kids! These search engines will take you to sites that are kid-friendly and kid-approved!
Quintura for Kids
Ask kids
kidrex
kidsclick!
infotopia
Yahoo kids
Cybersleuth kids
Sweet search for me
Boolify
In addition to the search engines above, there are easy and fast ways to improve your Google searches. Try the following techniques, and you'll find that your Google searches will be much more efficient and effective:
Google Advanced Search:
Using Boolean terms and other shortcuts: Boolean terms are words you add to your search terms to narrow your search, words like and, or,not, etc.
Deeperweb: Deeperweb gives you your Google search results in a convenient, easy-to-use layout using tag clouds and topic-mapping.
Google Wonder Wheel: